Depicting the tree of life in museums: guiding principles from psychological research

The Tree of Life is revolutionizing our understanding of life on Earth, and, accordingly, evolutionary trees are increasingly important parts of exhibits on biodiversity and evolution. The authors argue that in using these trees to effectively communicate evolutionary principles, museums need to take into account research results from cognitive, developmental, and educational psychology while maintaining a focus on visitor engagement and enjoyment. Six guiding principles for depicting evolutionary trees in museum exhibits distilled from this research literature were used to evaluate five current or recent museum trees. One of the trees was then redesigned in light of the research while preserving the exhibit’s original learning goals. By attending both to traditional factors that influence museum exhibit design and to psychological research on how people understand diagrams in general and Tree of Life graphics in particular, museums can play a key role in fostering 21st century scientific literacy

Descriptions of new Hypochilus species from New Mexico and California : with a cladistic analysis of the Hypochilidae (Araneae). American Museum novitates ; no. 3088

27 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-27

Supercooling and Its Ecological Implications in Coelotes atropos (Araneae, Agelenidae)

Volume: 20Start Page: 58End Page: 6

Controversial Before Entering My Classroom: Exploring Pre-Service Teacher Experiences with Evolution Teaching and Learning in the Southeastern United States

Evolution continues to be a polarizing topic amongst the public as well as in K-12 and post-secondary classrooms. One issue that contributes to the polarization is the absence of accurate and meaningful instruction on evolution. The divide is especially pronounced in regions such as “The South”—Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee—where cultural underpinnings strongly align against scientific topics dealing with human origins and change. Research shows that acceptance or rejection of evolution provides a reference for teachers’ choice whether to teach controversial topics such as evolution as well as the depth, breadth and duration of instruction. In this chapter we take a deeper look at the lived experiences of pre-service science teachers at a teaching college in the Southeastern United States in an effort to frame a context within the region by which later choices regarding teaching are made. Furthermore, we provide suggestions for improvements to teaching and learning that have implications beyond this critical region. Although public controversy surrounding evolution is widely regarded as being defining of the United States, the implications of studies here have translational value to teaching and learning evolution around the world